As the winner of our clutter contest, Diane Barry had her home transformed: This jam-packed space was turned into a beautiful spare room. Now try our tips to get your home organized

Meet the Barry Family

Meet the Barry Family

When Diane Barry and her family moved into their Murfreesboro, Tennessee, home two years ago, the spare room became a magnet for clutter. Though Diane tried to maintain order, she was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff, and it only became worse with time. "When the kids had school projects, they would often leave supplies out, and the mess kept multiplying," she says. As a last resort, Diane entered GH's mess-makeover contest and caught our eye with a creative scrapbook entry that read "Please send help!" So we called in pro organizers Randy Ballesteros of HGTV's Mission: Organization and Katie Sabo to transform the room.

Chaos Central

Chaos Central

The challenge: The first step was to purge, and for Diane it was the most difficult: "You get so caught up in the memories that it's hard to let go of things." To simplify the purging process, says Randy, ask a friend to help. "Getting an unbiased opinion makes it easier to decide what you really need."